After reading Susan Baum`s book Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom I chose two great activities to work with my students. Due to the fact that I teach five grades everyday, I decided to apply one activity with first grade and the other with fifth grade. As I have mentioned before I am an ES Spanish OPP (Official Peruvian Program) teacher. In my first grade class all of my students are native Spanish speakers. They are 7 years old. I have nine girls and ten boys and they are starting to read and write in Spanish. In my fifth grade class I have twenty-two kids, sixteen boys and six beautiful girls. They are 10 and 11 years old. Nineteen are native Spanish speakers and two are SSL (Spanish as a second language). They read and write with fluency and this semester we have been working on story analysis. Reflecting upon Renzulli, we are to focus our teaching on students’ interests and strengths rather than on their deficiencies. Because of that main reason I decided that Monster Mash was good for my first graders and the Novice/Expert activity ideal for my fifth graders.
The Monster Mash - First grade I invited my students by telling them that when I was in school I was a volleyball player and that doing that activity involved movement. Then I asked them to brainstorm on other people whose job involved movement. They immediately raised their hands to participate. They mentioned plumbers, hikers, ballerinas, archeologists. After that, I explained that they were going to pretend they were monsters and would dance a monster song. We made a circle and I told them that I was going to touch the head of the student who would go in the middle and be the leader. They were so delighted that I played the song twice. I touched the heads of several kids but the best dancer, Manuel, was the model for our writing activity. After that, I asked them different questions like: How was the monster moving? How did he look like? What was he doing? They were much exited and answered many things that I wrote on a big chart paper. Finally, we wrote our class story. Roosevelt was the setting and the monster was a good guy. He appeared in the middle of the playground and communicated with his crazy movements. He tried to be friendly by giving the kids lollipops but they didn`t accept them. Then, he saved two boys from falling from the swings . At the end everybody knew he was a nice guy and they all became friends. Referring to Renzulli, students can learn through sight, hearing and movement. With this activity, my first graders learned how to dance like a monster, gained new vocabulary and discovered the importance of using details and descriptive words when writing. This activity was a success, kids were really into it. Next time I try it, I will set ground rules since the very beginning because a few students didn’t take it seriously and just fooled around.
Novice/Expert – Fifth grade We had just finished reading the story “El Caballero Carmelo” by our famous peruvian author Abraham Valdelomar. So I started by asking students what they didn’t like to do like drawing, writing, building or constructing and acting. Four didn’t like to draw, eleven didn’t like to write, three didn’t like to build and four didn’t like to act. I had to divide the writing team in two groups. Before starting I told them to focus their work on chapter IV of the story that was about the main character and his family going to the circus. Everybody wanted to participate so we didn`t have an observer to take notes. The building team did a great job, they built their model with recycled materials they found in class. The drawing team took it seriously and made a nice picture. One writing team finished fast and wrote a short but good description. The other team just played and teased each other. The acting team did very poorly. One of the actors refused to move or say a word. But things changed when I asked them what their expertise was. Six liked to draw (I divided the team in two groups), thirteen liked to build (so I made three groups) three loved to act and nobody liked to write. The drawing groups made beautiful pictures, the building teams made nice models but none were as good as the team who didn`t like to build. The acting group was great; they were organized, brought props from home and made a great performance. Thinking about one of Daniel Goleman`s characteristics of a high level of emotional Intelligence, people make the most of their ability and always give 100%. But even though the kids seemed to enjoy better this part of the activity, they got sometimes unfocused and took longer to finish their work. After their presentations, when we reflected together, they all agreed that the second experience was the best part of the activity. I also had a great time doing this activity with my students but my big concern was that nobody in the class liked to write. The big truth is that we are immersed in a cyber era and next time, my only chance to make them voluntarily write, is to let them do it with a computer.
Assignment 6
Think Tac Toe
First grade activity
Dibuja y colorea tu juguete preferido. Recuerda incluir muchos detalles y todas sus partes.
Explica en forma oral un juego antiguo que conozcas.
Escoge un juguete antiguo y dibújalo. En la misma hoja dibuja cómo es ahora.
Cuéntanos la historia acerca de un juguete que te hayan regalado.
Piensa en momentos que debes ser solidario. Escribe seis juguetes que regalarías a otros niños y explica por qué.
Escribe una lista de quince juguetes que te gustan a ti y a tus amigos.
Escribe una oración acerca de tu juguete favorito (color, tamaño, qué es, por qué te gusta, para qué sirve)
Arma con material reciclable un juguete.
Dibuja o escribe tres partes o cosas que NO debe tener un juguete para que sea seguro y tres partes o cosas que SÍ puede tener para ser seguro.
Assignment 5
Reflecting on a reason why brains are programmed to be different, I believe it is because of nature. Every generation is different. Generations evolve and so does society and life styles. The way babies are born and to what they are exposed to now, has changed over the years. Today, children have a totally different life style than the one people my age had twenty five or thirty years ago. Babies have a more passive life. They spend many hours on strollers, car seats or pack n`plays. They don`t even crawl as much as they should but their senses develop rapidly in a very different way. They develop at a very early age different abilities like computer skills, cause and effect reactions and visual skills. It is true that their knowledge of the world is broader bacause of Internet but their imagination and creativity has narrowed in some ways. They don`t read or play with toys (dolls, robots, puzzles, lego) as much as older generations have, they are less exposed to nature (this is maybe due to the fact that today more mothers work full time) and they are less motivated for simple and ordinary things.
Today, we know more about kids and grownups who are different from us. People with Autism, LD, ADHD, ADD or Aspergers have a reason to be here. Even though nature has made them different, for many reasons humanity needs their special talents and strenghts. Today many of them are famous musicians, dancers, writers, scientists, actors or film makers. That´s the beautiful side of them we should always try to see and focus on. Reflecting on this, as a teacher it is not enough to have accomodations for them and differentiate in class, but understand that they can be as intelligent and even brighter as any other kid.
Assignment 4
Matrix Activity
Anne, Rocío, Cynthia, Maria Angela
Gifted and talented
Gifted students are not being serviced. Students who often have a higher than average IQs, often have high performance, good problem solving, are able to think critically, often widely read, abstract thinkers, often energetic, highly inquisitive, and sometimes have an “I’d rather do it myself”. Intellectual giftedness may be general or specific.
Learning challenges that many gifted children may face are boredom, stigmatization, becoming social outcasts, difficulty taking criticism, and collaborating with others.
Differentiation and independent project. Find out what they are passionate about and tap into that. Some parents ask in discussion pages if gifted or talented children should skip a grade, it is very controversial and does not fit easily into constraints of the typical school system. There is also the suggestion that school should rethink the way grades are formed.
Our cartoon is titled "Cuidemos el agua" and is meant for third graders.
Assignment 2
November 30, 2010
During these two days I´ve learned about Howard Gardner´s Multiple Intelligences. When I went to University I learned there were seven or eight Multiple Intelligences. Today I found out there are nine: Musical, Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Bodily Kinestetic, Math/Logical, Linguistic, Naturalist and Spiritual. I guess this means that now there are nine different ways to teach. I also learned that Multiple Intellegencies must always be present, be in one or more cultures, be localized in the brain and own a unique symbol system. Each child has developed a different intelligence therefore, these intelligences must be present in our teaching practice. When planning our activities we must consider two to four intelligencies, not just one as it has been a tradition for many years. In this way we are giving kids the opportunity to learn significantly in their own personal way.
I have also learned more in depth about the Jigsaw activity. We formed groups of three. Each of us was assigned a different reading. After thirty minutes of reading we grouped with others who had read the same material for a big discussion. This part was great because we talked about our findings and concerns. We became experts on that topic. Then we returned to our first groups and explained to our other two members what we learned from our reading and discussion. I think this a great activity to do in class because it also encourages cooperative learning. The Jigsaw activity can also be done presenting what you have learned in a different way other than just talking. Each member can choose how to do it, like drawing, writing, constructing or acting.
Assignment 1
November 30, 2010
My name is Maria Angela Novoa. I am an ES Spanish Teacher. I teach 1st through 5th grade OPP (Official Peruvian Program) classes. I have more than one hundred students. I see all my students daily and my periods last forty minutes each.
I am married and have two children, Triana 7 and Pedro 3. I love to write. When I was a kid my dream was to become someday a writer. I also love to read. My favorite book is "Love in Times of Cholera" and my favorite author is Gabriel García Márquez. I think I´ve read almost all of his books. Right now I´m reading a wonderful book ( which I highly recommend) titled "The Celtic´s Dream" from our Nobel prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa.
Assignment 7
After reading Susan Baum`s book Multiple Intelligences in the Elementary Classroom I chose two great activities to work with my students. Due to the fact that I teach five grades everyday, I decided to apply one activity with first grade and the other with fifth grade. As I have mentioned before I am an ES Spanish OPP (Official Peruvian Program) teacher. In my first grade class all of my students are native Spanish speakers. They are 7 years old. I have nine girls and ten boys and they are starting to read and write in Spanish. In my fifth grade class I have twenty-two kids, sixteen boys and six beautiful girls. They are 10 and 11 years old. Nineteen are native Spanish speakers and two are SSL (Spanish as a second language). They read and write with fluency and this semester we have been working on story analysis. Reflecting upon Renzulli, we are to focus our teaching on students’ interests and strengths rather than on their deficiencies. Because of that main reason I decided that Monster Mash was good for my first graders and the Novice/Expert activity ideal for my fifth graders.
The Monster Mash - First grade
I invited my students by telling them that when I was in school I was a volleyball player and that doing that activity involved movement. Then I asked them to brainstorm on other people whose job involved movement. They immediately raised their hands to participate. They mentioned plumbers, hikers, ballerinas, archeologists. After that, I explained that they were going to pretend they were monsters and would dance a monster song. We made a circle and I told them that I was going to touch the head of the student who would go in the middle and be the leader. They were so delighted that I played the song twice. I touched the heads of several kids but the best dancer, Manuel, was the model for our writing activity. After that, I asked them different questions like: How was the monster moving? How did he look like? What was he doing? They were much exited and answered many things that I wrote on a big chart paper. Finally, we wrote our class story. Roosevelt was the setting and the monster was a good guy. He appeared in the middle of the playground and communicated with his crazy movements. He tried to be friendly by giving the kids lollipops but they didn`t accept them. Then, he saved two boys from falling from the swings . At the end everybody knew he was a nice guy and they all became friends. Referring to Renzulli, students can learn through sight, hearing and movement. With this activity, my first graders learned how to dance like a monster, gained new vocabulary and discovered the importance of using details and descriptive words when writing. This activity was a success, kids were really into it. Next time I try it, I will set ground rules since the very beginning because a few students didn’t take it seriously and just fooled around.
Novice/Expert – Fifth grade
We had just finished reading the story “El Caballero Carmelo” by our famous peruvian author Abraham Valdelomar. So I started by asking students what they didn’t like to do like drawing, writing, building or constructing and acting. Four didn’t like to draw, eleven didn’t like to write, three didn’t like to build and four didn’t like to act. I had to divide the writing team in two groups. Before starting I told them to focus their work on chapter IV of the story that was about the main character and his family going to the circus. Everybody wanted to participate so we didn`t have an observer to take notes. The building team did a great job, they built their model with recycled materials they found in class. The drawing team took it seriously and made a nice picture. One writing team finished fast and wrote a short but good description. The other team just played and teased each other. The acting team did very poorly. One of the actors refused to move or say a word. But things changed when I asked them what their expertise was. Six liked to draw (I divided the team in two groups), thirteen liked to build (so I made three groups) three loved to act and nobody liked to write. The drawing groups made beautiful pictures, the building teams made nice models but none were as good as the team who didn`t like to build. The acting group was great; they were organized, brought props from home and made a great performance. Thinking about one of Daniel Goleman`s characteristics of a high level of emotional Intelligence, people make the most of their ability and always give 100%. But even though the kids seemed to enjoy better this part of the activity, they got sometimes unfocused and took longer to finish their work. After their presentations, when we reflected together, they all agreed that the second experience was the best part of the activity. I also had a great time doing this activity with my students but my big concern was that nobody in the class liked to write. The big truth is that we are immersed in a cyber era and next time, my only chance to make them voluntarily write, is to let them do it with a computer.
Assignment 6
Think Tac Toe
First grade activity
Recuerda incluir muchos detalles y todas sus partes.
En la misma hoja dibuja cómo es ahora.
Assignment 5
Reflecting on a reason why brains are programmed to be different, I believe it is because of nature. Every generation is different. Generations evolve and so does society and life styles. The way babies are born and to what they are exposed to now, has changed over the years. Today, children have a totally different life style than the one people my age had twenty five or thirty years ago. Babies have a more passive life. They spend many hours on strollers, car seats or pack n`plays. They don`t even crawl as much as they should but their senses develop rapidly in a very different way. They develop at a very early age different abilities like computer skills, cause and effect reactions and visual skills. It is true that their knowledge of the world is broader bacause of Internet but their imagination and creativity has narrowed in some ways. They don`t read or play with toys (dolls, robots, puzzles, lego) as much as older generations have, they are less exposed to nature (this is maybe due to the fact that today more mothers work full time) and they are less motivated for simple and ordinary things.
Today, we know more about kids and grownups who are different from us. People with Autism, LD, ADHD, ADD or Aspergers have a reason to be here. Even though nature has made them different, for many reasons humanity needs their special talents and strenghts. Today many of them are famous musicians, dancers, writers, scientists, actors or film makers. That´s the beautiful side of them we should always try to see and focus on. Reflecting on this, as a teacher it is not enough to have accomodations for them and differentiate in class, but understand that they can be as intelligent and even brighter as any other kid.
Assignment 4
Matrix Activity
Assignment 3
Our cartoon is titled "Cuidemos el agua" and is meant for third graders.Assignment 2
November 30, 2010
During these two days I´ve learned about Howard Gardner´s Multiple Intelligences. When I went to University I learned there were seven or eight Multiple Intelligences. Today I found out there are nine: Musical, Spatial, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Bodily Kinestetic, Math/Logical, Linguistic, Naturalist and Spiritual. I guess this means that now there are nine different ways to teach. I also learned that Multiple Intellegencies must always be present, be in one or more cultures, be localized in the brain and own a unique symbol system. Each child has developed a different intelligence therefore, these intelligences must be present in our teaching practice. When planning our activities we must consider two to four intelligencies, not just one as it has been a tradition for many years. In this way we are giving kids the opportunity to learn significantly in their own personal way.
I have also learned more in depth about the Jigsaw activity. We formed groups of three. Each of us was assigned a different reading. After thirty minutes of reading we grouped with others who had read the same material for a big discussion. This part was great because we talked about our findings and concerns. We became experts on that topic. Then we returned to our first groups and explained to our other two members what we learned from our reading and discussion. I think this a great activity to do in class because it also encourages cooperative learning. The Jigsaw activity can also be done presenting what you have learned in a different way other than just talking. Each member can choose how to do it, like drawing, writing, constructing or acting.
Assignment 1
November 30, 2010
I am married and have two children, Triana 7 and Pedro 3. I love to write. When I was a kid my dream was to become someday a writer. I also love to read. My favorite book is "Love in Times of Cholera" and my favorite author is Gabriel García Márquez. I think I´ve read almost all of his books. Right now I´m reading a wonderful book ( which I highly recommend) titled "The Celtic´s Dream" from our Nobel prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa.